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T O P I C R E V I E W

LM-12

Jim Lovell took a lot of great EVA photos of Buzz Aldrin on the Gemini 12 flight. Photos S66-62763, S66-62771 and S66-62782 are three good examples.

But are these images oriented correctly?

The three images chosen all show the 7-foot antenna on the Agena Target Vehicle. That antenna lines up with the docking bar on the Gemini spacecraft. Also, the Gemini ejection seats were angled 12 degrees from the vertical. Therefore, shouldn't these (and other) EVA photos be rotated 90 degrees clockwise to show the correct orientation, the way that Lovell saw Aldrin out the window from the left seat?

LM-12

Gemini 6A photo S65-63183 of Gemini 7 and the moon is another example. It looks like it was taken by Wally Schirra in the left seat.

However, if you rotate the photo 90 degrees clockwise, it looks like it was taken by Tom Stafford in the right seat. I believe that is the correct orientation.

LM-12

Gemini 9A EVA photo S66-38515 shows Gene Cernan upside down at the right side of the frame. The image is often seen rotated 180 degrees with Cernan upright at the left side of the frame. I believe both orientations are incorrect.

The docking bar and mirror can be seen in the photo. If you rotate the photo 90 degrees clockwise, the docking bar is near-vertical and Cernan is sideways at the bottom of the frame. That should be the correct orientation of the photo. That should be how Tom Stafford saw Cernan out the left window.

heng44

I think I agree with you in all three cases. In the case of the Gemini 6 photo I find that the reddish stripes on the nose of the spacecraft are a big help in determining who took the photo. Stafford, in this case.

You can see that the stripes at the front of the spacecraft are offset towards the center of the nose. So when they point to the right the view is from the command pilot's window and vice versa.

LM-12

Exactly, Ed. I also noticed those lines were offset. Gemini 12 photo S66-63011 caught my attention because that EVA photo was definitely taken from the right side of the spacecraft.

Looking at Ed's photo, where the lines are offset is where the re-entry control system section and the rendezvous and recovery section meet.